With the Portable Windows Computing landscape forever changing, it seems a logical reason to include several more portable devices in our scope of coverage.

As we know, Windows phone 7 Series has taken a different direction and with its redesigned interface and functionality comes the repositioning of Windows phone in the market. Although it relies on Windows CE at its core, Windows phone is no longer that same device which has been touted as a pocket computer for the past 10 years.

The new Windows phone will definitely be a very connected phone, with communication as its top priority. Data input, graphics, expandable memory (or the lack of it), have all changed but one thing remains - its size. Still pocket friendly and light. But what has this left us?

It has left us with a device that seems to be geared towards reviewing information rather than creating information. If the Pocket PC was designed to be used for data access 80% of the time, and entering data for the remaining 20%, the Windows phone moves this slider further more to 90% data access and 10% data entry.

This leaves a void for true mobile computing where replying to email and creating word documents are at the top of the list.

Enter the Netbook. While there are other portable devices there such as the UMPC, it seems that the netbook is the way to go. With a price range that is very affordable for anyone who can easily spend for any Windows Mobile Phone, it easily fits into the category as the next must have for any road warrior. Netbooks might not be powerful beasts but with its pretty long battery life, Wi-Fi, BT, Wimax, or HSDPA connectivity options, it puts it in the very practical list of must haves.

Watch out for more updates on this very interesting line of devices._________________Carlo Ma. Guerrero

Thanks Jun, it was all through our numerous discussions on mobile computing and which direction we should go. If I remember it right, I discussed this as well with Ace and while we strongly support Windows phone, it seems that the direction Microsoft has taken with the device is no where in near the push of the original Pocket PC.

I've been a strong advocate of mobile computing for more than ten years now. And Microsoft's offering back then was more cutting edge. How I miss the pocketable devices that allow you to control your PC remotely out of the box. How I miss the ability of my pocketable device to do Photoshop files on the go. How I miss the ability to easily access network files via a Pocket PC. While some of these features may still be available in the Windows phone 7 Series devices, I doubt that it will have the same feel and function as the pocketable computers of several years ago.

The Pocket PC Phone Edition and the Smartphone have merged and sadly, the Windows phone of today is nothing more than a phone with token features to identify it as a Microsoft product.

Again, don't get me wrong. I like the new Windows phone despite its stripped down features. While it is no longer a Pocket Computer, it still is a good connected phone. With SNS in mind, it probably is a better social phone than the Pocket PC Phone Edition or Smartphone. The new device is geared towards out-of-the-pocket direct communication on different levels. For this, I think it works as a wonderful communication device.

But then, what do I lose with Windows phone? The old accessories of the old devices, the features of the old devices, the expandable memory, the computer that was called the Pocket PC.

What device fills in this void? UMPCs at the start were just ridiculously priced. I for one do not see the value of getting a $1000 device just for mobile computing. The netbooks of today have improved a lot in the three years that it has been out in the market.

From anemic notebook wannabe's, it has carved a niche for itself. Now called netbooks, it has cornered a pretty good segment of the road warrior class. It has never been this easy. Todays netbooks can run for 6 hours straight. You get a decently sized keyboard (roughly 85% size of standard keyboards) and pretty decent storage space (160GB to 250GB). They are capable of running Windows 7, and the Office Suite. Surfing the Internet is not a problem, email is not a problem, working on documents is not a problem. Watching videos are possible unless you want to watch DVD videos, then an external optical drive is needed. But if you are talking about working out of the office, and living the life of a true road warrior, then the netbook becomes an indispensible tool._________________Carlo Ma. Guerrero

thinking that this would be a good business decision, ms joined the bandwagon by putting form before essence, forgetting that it serves a particular target group for wm devices/phones since it does a lot of things that the others couldn't do.

with this development, wm advocates may actually opt to shift to others like iphone and android and get a netbook in the process to satisfy what they have lost without cleaning out their pockets. though a netbook is still bigger than the wm "all in one" device, the former is still very portable and undoubtedly serves basic computing purposes.

my daughter uses an asus p900ha netbook and recently my wife got the msi cx420 which i get to borrow for basic and heavy duty use, respectively. now if i can raise enough cash to upgrade my desktop

Exactly! With Windows CE 3.x the underlying OS in the Pocket PC and the Handheld PC, Microsoft tried to bring the Windows environment into these handheld devices. But with its focus constantly changing, it's hard to stick by a platform that only tries to mimic certain aspects of a true Windows environment.

A netbook on the other hand offers each user the true Windows experience. At least I'm sure I won't lose the "cut-and-paste" functionality with a netbook._________________Carlo Ma. Guerrero